For my 16th birthday my grandmother treated me to tickets to Funny Girl soon after it opened in 1964. I have no idea how she scored them since the show was supposed to be a sellout for months--maybe years---ahead. But she did, a matinee and not even in the nosebleed zone. We sat in the mezzanine and had a perfect view of the stage and watching Barbra, still in her early 20s command the stage every time she stepped upon it was unforgettable. The Wintergarden could easily have been crowned the unofficial queen of Broadway theaters, immense, beautiful, and with astonishing acoustics. We laughed, we cried, we clapped until our hands were bright red and deeply bruised. It was a day that still is bright in my memory these sixty years later. After the show we decided to stop at a tiny Japanese restaurant for dinner. That was when my grandmother, then 66 and a lifelong Broadway maven, gave me the blow-by-blow story of the real Fanny Brice as she had been. Gram had seen her in the Follies--at that very theater, the Wintergarden, some thirty years before. She told me where the story of how much the real Fanny and Nicky diverged from the theatrical fiction and was able to quote from memory many of the articles she had read about Arnstein's legal troubles. "A no-good crook" was the kindest thing she called him. She saw Fanny's performance of "My Man" and grew misty-eyed describing how it had affected her. Now that old movies are available to stream to our heart's content, I revel in the real Fanny's undying ability to charm and entertain. I do wish the great lady could see that she is remembered and by those who have the will to search for her, still deeply loved.

Barbra has never been "ugly". She has a special kind of beauty that even increases while watching and hearing her

Barbra performance cannot be topped as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. Her voice, the stage presence, and talent are one most iconic performance both on stage and on film.

WOW props to Sondheim for insisting a Jewish actress play such an iconic Jewish performer! Accurate/appropriate casting is a fight still being fought today for most roles

I am about to turn 70 and have been a theater buff all my life. I used to spend my babysitting money on Broadway shows back in the 60s. I am amazed at how many young people in theater today have little idea of Broadway history. Keep these videos coming!

My grandparents had actually seen Fanny Brice onstage. They thought she was fantastic; funny/sad, chic/dumpy, and they said she had a wonderful voice……but not like Streisand’s voice! (When my parents played a Streisand record for them, they said, “Oh, Fanny was great……but she couldn’t sing like THAT!). My own parents had seen Streisand at a nightclub and on the Broadway stage. When the movie came out, they dragged us kids (we were pre-teens) to see it, and we were PISSED! But we watched the movie, and our collective jaws hit the floor. We were just shocked that one person could be funny and sad, sing soft ballads and blow the roof off with belters, and simply be so magnetic. So I was a fan from that moment. As for the impending Broadway revival, here’s my thought: the show itself isn’t all that great, not like The King and I, Fiddler, Gypsy, et al, that are often revived. Funny Girl is so indelibly connected with Streisand that I can’t imagine anyone else being more than middling.

There is NO ONE and I mean NO ONE can ever top Barbra Streisand 💞

I remember being surprised by how much I liked Funny Girl when I first saw it as a preteen, around 2010. I also remember being utterly confused by the insinuation that Barbra was ugly, and honestly I still am.

I never thought Barbara Streisand was ugly. Always liked her voice. Bold and beautiful woman.

Barbra was obviously excellent as Fanny and it seemed to be tailor-made to her public persona at the time as well as her acting ability. Not to mention, the music was the perfect vehicle to really showcase the breadth of her considerable skill as a vocalist. But, I think the intrinsic link between Barbra and this role exists for more than just her wonderful performance. She was TRULY at the right place at EXACTLY the right time. When Funny Girl debuted on Broadway, she had already made quite a name for herself. She preceded the imminent cultural shift from the impossible old Hollywood standards to the ushering in of celebrating and glamorizing of unique and unconventional beauty in the late 60’s into the 70’s. She was NEW and exciting. The zeitgeist was STARVED for it’s new, “ugly duckling” mega-belter, just as it’s previous one, Judy Garland, was beginning to make her exit. So, it was really an anomaly. Not at all trying to lessen the impact of her unbelievable talent, because that alone would have been enough to make her into a MEGA star, but the TIMING and cultural climate was really the cherry on top that catapulted her into the stratosphere and ultimately made the role of Fanny Brice in Funny Girl belong indelibly to Barbra in the public consciousness.

Barbra Streisand was wonderful in this. And it’s ironic how much her own personality mirrored that of Fanny Brice. I remember my grandmother talking about Fanny Brice and what a great performer she was.

This was my first Barbra-record. I was 10 years old. Then I saw 'A Happening In Central park". My Mom snuck the little TV in my room and I was smitten forever-I loved it. But FG changed the equation for me, and now I'm 65 and I still love Barbra.

Wonderful job here--thank you for this superlative production. I'll have more to say later; I'm one of the fortunate ones who saw Barbra on Broadway in Funny Girl in June of 1965; I was a teenager; but I remember everything! To this day, I've never seen a more magnetic stage performance...she was/is unforgettable. More later--thank you again!

OMG, this was a FASCINATING look at one of my favorite movies and actresses of ALL TIME! "Funny Girl" was the first Barbra movie that I ever saw (I was 8) and I thought she was the most beautiful and talented woman alive. Then, when I saw "Hello, Dolly!" a year later, I knew I was going to be a fan for life. I have never heard Beanie Feldstein sing, but I'm not sure if ANYONE can bring down the house like Barbra, especially when singing "Don't Rain on My Parade" and "My Man". If I could fly to NYC and see this revival, I would. I might even try to do that, since it is one of my favorite musicals of all time and I know it will be a stellar revival that doesn't veer far from what die-hard fans have come to love from watching the movie around 100 times. BTW, Jerry Orbach would have been a wonderful Nicky Arenstein! He was soooooo handsome!

An excellent clip. I saw Babs do it on Broadway when I wss 17. I waited for her to come out and gushed about her performance, predicting a soaring fiture for her in Hollywood. She signed my playbill, looked at me and said in her inimitable way: "Who-a-yoo?" ( I. E. "Who are you?" )

You're actually missing something if you don't watch Funny Lady! There Fanny Brice is depicted as more mature, when she comes back home she wants reality and not an illusion of it like on stage and I think it's one of the main subjects. I've seldom seen a woman and her emotions so well depicted in a movie from that area, it makes you feel like you can actually relate to her, truelly identify with her feelings and the choices she's got to make for herself. Besides James Caan offers a great performance as her love interest and it really shows how things evolve in life, in people. It's unlike a lot of romantic movies. I particulary liked those two movies for that particulary the moment in the first movie when you think it's the ending, she's married, living almost in a castle, pregnant and then the problems come and you notice that they were there since the beginning, overshadowed by her blind and strong love.

👩‍💻The Funny Girl movie soundtrack was my first ever vinyl record. I went babysitting one night, had seen the movie, loved it, but was broke and could not afford the soundtrack. Luck was one my side, my employer had the Funny Girl movie soundtrack, she let me play it while she was gone, and I couldn't go home without it. So ... I made a deal and traded my babysitting services that night for that most glorious vinyl recording. That started my love affair with all things Barbara Streisand. I am 66 years old now and still my love for Barbara's music burns in my heart. Ms. Streisand is the most ironic performer for the 20th Century, "She Did it Her Way" and opened doors for women just like Fanny Brice did for her generation and generations to come. God Bless Barbara Streisand. Much love and peace. 🙋‍♀️🪔🥰🐞🧘‍♀️☯️😷🇺🇲

So, one time my mom asked me, "But WHY are you gay?"----My instant reply was "You're the one who took me to see Funny Girl when I was six!" Ba-dum-tiss. But seriously, folks, I will always remember the ending---that inCREDible version of My Man that blew six-year old me right out of my seat. No hate no shade to Beanie Feldman, but there will only ever be one Funny Girl for me, and that's Barbra. Goddess.

There will never be another Fanny Brice other than Barbara

People don't realize how BIG Funny Girl was when it debuted as a film....Streisand was already the #1 female singer on vinyl, and every album release was an event. The film was a certified blockbuster. In LA, the venerable Egyptian theatre was remodeled for its release. It played in that theatre for over a year. Funny Girl lost out to Oliver! for best picture, also a very well made film. If Oliver weren't the 'Bigger' of the two musicals...Funny Girl had a great shot at winning Best Picture, though The Lion in Winter" was a big prestige production. Still, a great time to go to the movies back then, truly transporting you to another place, I still remember the audience laughing hysterically at the gags in Funny Girl.

Funny Lady is worth it for that "How Lucky Can You Get" number

I saw Streisand in funny Girl twice in Philadelphia. I forget which theater she opened in, but the musical was moved to the Erlanger Theater a much larger venue, due to the demand for tickets. There was a sense at the time that something important was happening, that musical theater history was being made by this relative unknown.

Excellent! One of my favorite movies, and I enjoy Funny Lady, too. Fanny was a very stylish woman irl; talented interior designer, etc. Fascinating woman! Barbra's performance is so on point.

I agree. Streisand owns this.

Fanny Brice's understated performance of My Man is wonderful.

I never saw Barbra do this on Broadway. I have, however, seen a couple of productions on stage, and they had the same problem: their stars were playing Barbra Streisand playing Fannie Brice and I thought, "If I wanna see Barbra do it again, I'll go home and watch the DVD!" I hope that this will not be the case for the upcoming Broadway revival.

The fact people think Barbra is ugly is perplexing.

No one and I mean NO ONE can ever live up to Barbra Streisand performance on stage or screen in the roll of Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. I've seen theater productions of Funny Girl and the magic, without Streisand, just wasn't there.

"Funny Girl" was the movie that made me a Barbra Streisand fan. She's a legend! I love her, and all her movies. She's a mega talent, and beautiful in her own way. So much more than just a pretty face.

Well done you. This was so well done. I love the history of Fanny Brice and I think somewhere along the way, we all ran with Streisand and forgot Fanny. She was a trailblazer and probably one of the wealthiest women of her time. Funny Lady iSNT sooooo bad. I loved her oomph in it and her take no BS attitude. I never realized how young she died and having this background now, has made her much brighter in my mind. Thanks.

Nicely done! Yeah...I was one of those teenagers back in the 60's who was totally bowled over by Barbra...and have been so ever since.

"And all this time I was in love with a set of God damned toothbrushes." - "Funny Lady" - And please don't be dissin' "Funny Lady" ESPECIALLY if you haven't seen it! It is a tour de force of all things Streisand. Great songs, comic bits, and many quotable zingers. OTHERWISE, thank you for this post, it was very informative and nicely done.

I was a gay 13 year-old boy when I first saw "Funny Girl." I was, as they say, stunned. Much later I saw the the restored dye print transfers. I was again, stunned.

My grandfather was a huge fan of Fanny Brice and the Ziegfeld Follies. He lived in Manhattan at 32 E 64th Street and went to the Follies all the time. He was absolutely thrilled and could hardly believe it when one day a certain woman moved into the apartment directly above his.... yup... you guessed who!!!

Funny Lady is good, too. Some astonishing musical numbers and of course, amazing styling.

Let's not forget Mimi Hines who replaced Barbra Streisand in the original production of Funny Girl on Broadway. She was a smash hit in the role, starring for a year and a half on Broadway after Streisand left the cast in December, 1965.

This was truly spectacular! The research, the clips, the narration. All expertly handled. It seems as though Fanny Brice brought out the best in everyone...Ziegfeld, Streisand and now Kevin Morris. Way to go!

I believe that Jules Stein tried to get a revival of FG with Taylor Dayne playing Fanny. Obviously it never saw the light of day. It’s amazing how this new production is opening on 4/24/2022, which is Barbra’s 80th birthday.

I saw Barbara Streisand in I Can Get It For You Wholesale, Funny Girl on stage and as a movie. I also saw Funny Lady, the movie and many of her TV performances. I enjoyed every one of them. Along with the above she made a number of dramatic and comedic movies, showing her acting versatility. I was and still am a fan of hers. She is one of a kind as was Fanny Brice. They both seemed to have to prove themselves over and over again. They succeeded well. Barbara Streisand can still amaze people today as she did in the past.

Barbra is the ultimate, she’s done it all her own way, just listen to the difference in her voice and style compared to what is happening on the music scene today!!!

I played Eddie Ryan in that Actors Fund benefit and got to perform Who Taught Her Everything She Knows with the late, great Kaye Ballard. It was a thrilling night- especially Lilias White, and Sutton Foster. What a great documentary you've put together-really interesting! Can't wait to see the revival on Broadway.

For those of you who can't imagine Beanie Feldstein as Fanny, I say go and see for yourself. I could never, ever imagine anyone other than Robin Williams playing Mrs Doubtfire. But I went to see this new show on Broadway last fall. Rob McClure is absolutely fantastic. I have tickets for the new production of Funny Girl already. :-)

In 1968 I was 7 years old. My mother and I went to see it 6 times. I have the movie on DVD..

Oh my god, this was sooooooo freaking fabulous! I watched it twice, and I’ll be back to watch it again, and again, and again! ♥️

I stumbled on this today. Very impressive documentary on the work & pain that defines a great piece of theater. I was in high school when a group of us went to see Barbra at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles. We had no idea what to expect. I was totally blown away, a fan was born. Many years latter I had the opportunity to photography her for a benefit. She has an amazing presence. I am curious how the new revival will be staged and the actress playing the role. Unfortunately I live in France and don’t have much opportunity to visit NY. The one thing I miss most is Broadway. Thank you for this. I certainly will look forward to future pieces… Merci.

My mom played the OBC album constantly. She "identities" w/Barbra Streisand in a way; both have Jewish backgrounds & grew up in working-class Brooklyn neighborhoods . Mom mostly gave up her ambitions after my brother & I came along( that & she developed crippling stage fright) but a part of her still craved that career path & she would take acting or voice classes from time to time & do extra work but never really seriously pursued a caree, Still, mom( who's 90 now) had "Funny Girl" (& Streisand's career) to live that life vicariously.

Many thanks for this great document about two FABULOUS women. Great Unique material can been seen in this video. Staged Right Made this document with great care. For over 53 years I collecting everything about Fanny Brice and Funny Girl. My great hobby. Again,many thanks. Wim.

My favorite musical of all time, I love you BARBRA!!!!

I had no idea about the history of this! I love Barbara, so this is fascinating. Thank you for this detailed and insightful video! So well done! ❤️

Thank you, Sondheim and Carol Burnett for taking the stance they did. Kevin, once again, l amazed and impressed by the amount of information you pack into your videos. I always learn so much. Xo

wonderful thank you for covering this story so well i can see it in my head this is a great show i loved Barbra and will always anything she touches is Gold the story of Fanny Brice is now even more clear then before thanks love it. i love to see more of this.

My Mother saw Funny Lady in the theatre more than 6 times. Great movie! I’d seen the movie, but wish I had seen the theatre performance too. Amazing performance by Streisand, Omar Sharif, and supporting cast.

Fanny and Barbara are like bookends for the 20th Century of its Greatest Comediennes!

I saw both Funny Girl and Funny Lady on ABC's 4:30 Movie when I was a kid. It was my first introduction to Barbra Streisand and I cringe at the idea of anyone else playing Fanny Brice. I would be shaking in my boots if I were any of the actresses attempting it. But God bless them for having the strength to do it. I'd love to see the London show and I wish the actors in the upcoming Broadway show all the luck in the world.

This is fascinating ! I learned so much ! Funny girl was the movie that made me fall in love with Barbra Streisand ! i still love her music !

Love "Fanny Brice".. Wish her life could of lasted longer.. She was So Unique & Talented.. An Underrated "LEGEND".... Thanks for this nice story..

"Baby Snooks", I remember giggling as a wee boy to hear her on the radio in the '40s. Not a fan of musicals or stage productions but Streisand was lovable in the movie and really, somehow, quite beautiful.

Thank you so much for this video! This movie is one of my top 5 of all time movies. Can’t tell you how many times I have watched it and still every time she sings My Man I still cry. Not just a tear or two but the ugly crying kind! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏❤️

I just got finished watching your video! I am very impressed with the presentation of the subject matter. I have been a HUGE fan of the Funny Girl movie with Barbra! You did an outstanding job of researching and presenting the real Fanny Brice. Very informative!

In the 1970s, I saw a summer stock production of Funny Girl, starring Carol Lawrence. I was pleasantly surprised by how funny she was in the part. Although the script is generally weak, the comedy is definitely written into it, so a good actress (with a good director) can find and deliver it.

Well written tribute to Fanny Brice. Enjoying the theater history of your series. I just watched the movie for the 1st time and I was surprised at how funny it is. The history adds a lot of depth.

Streisand was perfect in this role. I can't imagine anyone else doing it.

This was great! I love Barbra! I would love to see you do Dreamgirls!

This video should've just focused on Fanny & Barbra. That was the strongest part. Incorporating premature praise for Beanie Feldstein was a misstep especially considering the poor reviews, low ticket sales, inadequate vocals, and eventual recasting with Lea Michele who subsequently brought in higher box office and better reviews. Barbra remains the best and earned her Oscar.

Funny Lady. "Not missing much?" It's worth a view. Streisand is truer to the character of Brice than of herself. Try not to pay much attention to the miscast Omar Sharif, once again playing Arnstein. Some great musical numbers. Too many people compare it to Funny GIrl. It's not FG.

I don't get why people exaggerate Lea's so called campaign to get Funny Girl. Most of it stems for just doing her job on glee and then people started associating her with it. She only about it when asked and that was just a few times post glee. Was she suppose to lie and say she wasn't interested?

You are too young to have been there when FUNNY GIRL opened on Broadway. Most of your research is laudable, but I think if you did more research you would find that the days & weeks after, Streisand's impact was SEISMIC. Newspapers tried to outdo themselves w superlatives. Within a few weeks, Barbra Streisand, at 22 years of age, made the cover of TIME magazine (nearly unheard of in those days before the self-promotional internet efforts of today). FUNNY GIRL became THE show to see and was the HAMILTON of its day (booked long in advance) & Streisand the highest-paid performer on Broadway...

My favorite movie of all time ❤

Barbra Streisand's interpretation of the role was totally based on her own instincts for comedy and pathos, rather than attempting an "impersonation", which is what 99% of other actresses would have done. However, she isn't "playing Barbra Streisand" as so many people suggest. The character of Fanny Brice she created was nothing like the other iconic characters and roles she's remembered for. While many other women have played Dolly Levi, none have come close to the comic genius of Barbra's reading of those lines. Whether or not she was age-appropriate for the role is another story. But just as with Barbra's role in Funny Girl, it's UNTHINKABLE that another actress could replace her as Katie Moroski in The Way We Were, or Judy Maxwell in What's Up Doc, or as Yentl. Leaving aside that Barbra possesses on of the most astonishing voices ever recorded and an ability to interpret a lyric which is second to none, there's the simple fact that Barbra Streisand has a stage and screen presence which no other actress can outshine. Barbra understood that her job as a "star" was to captivate her audience, whether she was singing, crying, or simply in the background of a shot. She was never NOT interesting (until she started making crap like the Fockers movies and that atrocity with Seth Rogan). But Barbra, in her prime, is in a class all her own. In order for another actress to actually "own" the role of Fanny Brice, on a level comparable to Barbra, she would have to approach as authentically and instinctively as Barbra did -- without any consideration to Streisand's performance. In short, she would need to be a creative genius in her own right... and on the rare occasions that genius appears, it usually makes its own path and doesn't bother rehashing the genius of another. In summary: NO ONE will ever replace Barbra in Funny Girl and those who try, come off as Kareoke versions of Streisand.

This is a jewel. Barbra Streisand and her debut performance is amazing

Barbra, the best female sound in my lifetime.

In 1964 Streisand appeared as one of the acts on a summer variety show on tv, the Keith something Show, live. When she came on stage and gazed calmly into the camera, you could hear some people in the audience--more than an undertone, more than a few-- rudely snorting/laughing at how she looked. It was appalling. The fact that she garnered such huge applause after she finished singing People, did not redeem that audience.

Two things: It's called "Suspension of disbelief," and along with "acting" the whole "She's gotta be Jewish!" makes no sense (and I'm Jewish). This is a tangential walk down a path that is recent and not at all artistic in scope. Also, now that the show has opened, one could say that none of this has aged well...

I am of a relative fortunate few who got to see Streisand live in those earliest years a number of times, including seeing her 4 times in FUNNY GIRL, 2 concerts at the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium; I was at the tapings of her 1st 2 specials (My Name is Barbra & Color Me Barbra), as well as being at the Central Park concert. I saw her live again in 1980, and my last time was her 2006 tour. It is impossible to realistically convey how much more electric she was in person in those earlier years. With all her successes on the big and small screens, not to mention her unparalleled recording career, there was something about her live that defies understanding. Call it charisma, which she had in abundance, there simply was never anyone ever who was even close to the size of talent and power she projected from a stage. Here I am some 61 years later, and she still is thriving. Note to the maker/narrator of this otherwise great documentary: Can you somehow edit out all references to the fiasco that was Beanie Feldstein? In hindsight, your enthusiasm for her seems contrived at best (no one was ever even the slightest bit excited about the thought of her being cast), and undermines your credibility at worst.

This was a truly well researched documentary. I learned a great deal about Brice and the stage production of Funny Girl. This was especially wonderful as I had the great good fortune of seeing Streisand in the lead role at the Winter Garden Theater in April of 1965. And, yes, I also was in Central Park a few years later to witness her free concert. I have very fond memories of both events.

This is a very informative episode which I very much appreciated 👍🏻. By the way, whoever told you that you are not missing much by not seeing 'Funny Lady' has it wrong. It is a very moving sequel.

Outstanding. Thank you. Many facts I didn't know. Great footage. Wonderful narration. Thoroughly enjoyed it!!

It saddens me so much to learn about her life I love her talent but now to learn what's behind it it's heartbreaking

Wow, what a great revue! Fanny Brice as Jewish Vaudeville Comedienne should be first. As so often, the star who plays the person in the biopic sings better than the purported singer. Julie Andrews voice way superior to Gertrude Lawrence in STAR (biopic of Lawrence), comes readily to mind. So too with Barbara Streisand being the better singer, though Fanny Brice with not as limited a range as Gertrude Lawrence. "The Great Ziegfeld" was an excellent movie, despite whatever liberties Hollywood (as always) takes with realty, where the audience gets to see on film Fanny Brice interpreting herself for a movie role, complete as Yiddish/Jewish performer, which seemed central to her as performer and her as person. There was a sense that Barbara Streisand managed to capture that Jewish element so central to Fanny Brice as performer and as a person.

Well done. An interesting take on the Brice/Streisand dichotomy. I wouldn't be so dismissive of Funny Lady though. It's well worth a look. Sure, the narrative is less than compelling, and it has about as much to do with the truth of Brice's relationship with Billy Rose as Funny Girl has to do with the truth about Nicky Arnstein. But several of the musical numbers are thrilling - in particular Great Day, How Lucky Can You Get, More Than You Know and Isn't This Better? It's also worth noting that in playing the older Fanny(Fannie), Streisand presents more of a keenly observed characterisation of Brice, rather than simply playing herself. She looks more like Brice did at that stage of her life. Ahe adopts a manner, attitude and speech pattern closer to the real Brice. Apparently, the challenge of taking this approach was one of the things that finally persuaded Streisand to agree to the sequel, after being initially deeply reluctant. Streisand is, as always, compelling and totally transcends the weak script.

Thank you for this. I d like to think that Fanny had generous enough a spirit that shed be glad to share her life if it gave people happiness,inspiration and and a boost to helping new careers .

I read the autobiography of Billy Rose, Fanny Brice's second husband, and he recalled that in the early 1960's Ray Stark approached Rose with the news that he was producing a musical based on Fanny Brice's life. "Great," said Rose, "but you'll never be able to cast it." Also, while we have no idea what Fanny Brice would have thought of "Funny Girl," in 1939 20th Century-Fox did a thinly veiled biopic of the Brice-Arnstein story, "Rose of Washington Square." They used fictitious names for the characters, "Rose Sargent" (Alive Faye) and ""Barton Dewitt Clinton" (Tyrune Power), but the real Brice sued for $750,000 and settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Ironically, publicity surrounding the lawsuit helped promote the movie and it was the biggest-grossing musical of 1939.

First time viewing your videos. Really enjoyed your approach. My attention was held throughout the entire presentation. Thank you! As far as Funny Girl - the movie has always been a top 10 if not a top 5 on my list. My sister and I used to play the recording (vinyl) while cleaning to the house. We repeated it so many times my mother would finally yell down to us "can we PLEASE listen to something else?". HA I also have a fondness for Fanny Brice. She is funny and has such a gentle heart. I've seen only a few of her performances but something in her seems familiar - like a family member - someone I would trust. Thanks for the view into her life.

Soooo awesome to learn of all this. Thrilled to have found you. Thanks so much.

Wonderful account of Fanny Brice's life, career, and relations with Nicky Arnstein. And the photos of a young Fanny show a pretty girl and the best I've seen. Great video!

You did such a fantastic job with this but when you admit/boast to/about not even watching Funny Lady in an odd way it kinda diminishes all the other painstaking research you did since this IS a piece about Fanny/Barbra AND the show/movie, etc. Now FL is also a movie of its time and subject but in it's own way - completely different than Funny Girl. It shows a more mature Fanny AND Barbra. You've GOT to watch Funny Lady to have the proper bookends/closure. I love Funny Girl but I've always adored Funny Lady. And the closing scene/outfit is SPECTACULAR.

This was a fascinating documentary. just caught The Great Zeigfeld starring William Powell on Turner Classics this week, featuring Fanny Brice playing herself. (Glad you used a few quick clips from it) Embarrassed that I'd never seen it before, because I played Nicky in a regional production years ago.

When you haven't got it, you just haven't got it ! No matter how much you may want it !

It's a surprise for me to see new takes on Funny Girl, and could very well enjoy them, but no one could ever top Barbra's, and that's for many reasons. Think about the blood, sweat and yes, tears that Barbra both experienced and witnessed in the birth of that story. It's not just that i've always felt "The Greatest Star" was oh-so-appropriate since the days my four-year-old ears could hear the difference between her voice and others who merely sang. ("People"? Wow!) No, it was in the difficult birthing that brought forth magnificence in probably the most timely way, i think? Without Barbra at that time, who the heck would they have found anywhere nearly as fit as she? As talented? Funny Girl and Barbra were divine gifts to each other, i think. Anyway, Staged Right, i really enjoy how you juxtaposed Fanny's and Barbra's stories in this remarkable offering; replaying many segments here, and i was enraptured! Thank you!

Can you imagine if Jerry Orbach WAS Nick Arnstein. Wow, a great musical would have been completely beyond Legend.

Fascinating to hear how hit and miss and endlessly refined the classic we know often is.

Educating myself on this video after all the current Funny Girl Musical drama....👀

An entertaining and meticulously made documentary, thank you for taking the time. Funny Lady was nominated for five Academy Awards and six Golden Globes . You may want to take a look at it.

In the 1960's I was part of a comedy duo named IKE DAVIS & PIETRA FONDO & Pietra ( in real life Judy Winslow) had a voice that emulated Barbra Streisand's...so when Funny Girl opened in previews, we saw the show many, many times...only the 2nd act though....we could only only afford full show tickets once... & we watched which seats were taken & which weren't as Opening Night approached....we realized that two seats against each side wall of the Winter Garden were never taken...we thought what a great possibility it was for us to use those seats for our second act 'entrance.' When the actual first nighters got back to their seats we knew we were finished but upon leaving we chuckled a bit knowing that we already knew the second act by heart....

I've read every book about Streisand out there. Really nice to be able to visualize stuff for a change, Thanks for sharing,

One of the best researched and written things I've seen on the tube. Thank you

Thank you for this beautiful interwoven presentation about Fanny Brice, Barbra Streisand and the musical experience of Funny GIrl. I look forward to watching your other presentations. I will write a longer comment about Fanny Brice soon, and thank you so much for bringing attention to her as a part of this documentary!

I saw Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl at the Prince of Wales theatre in London England in 1966. The ticket cost $1.50. She was Fabulous.

We just saw this show at the Smith Center in Las Vegas (March 29 2024)... It was fantastic!

I still remember my mother telling me about the time she got to see Fanny Brice live in the early 1940s and how she loved the Baby Schnooks skits.